Drinking the Orange Kool-Aid

Somewhere in our twenties, most of us feel our metabolism slowing and our hangovers worsening. Our jeans fit tighter and somehow muffin tops appear visibly in the mirror. The age of partying without consequence has come to a depressing halt that we swear appeared too quickly and without warning.

Instead of reminiscing about our nights of back to back bingers sans head-splitting hangover headaches, we become obsessed with thinking we can do it all. Sure, we can have midweek happy hours that last a bit too long and still make it to work the next morning. We can definitely take those four shots to the head like in college, down a few beers, and wake up ready to rage again. Workout after drinking like a fish? Why not? Low metabolism or not, we can accomplish anything because we are in our twenties and we demand it dammit!

 We refuse to give up our drinking, so the only alternative is working out more frequently and harder than we ever have before. If those love handles are going to disappear, it’s going to take more than a walk to the bar down the street. You are actually going to have to sweat. Yeah, I said it. Salty water is going to seep through your pores and make you stink worse than that kid on the bus that refused to wear deodorant. As we are a people who thrive on trends, I fell kettle bell first into Crossfit and began box jumping, power squatting, and rope climbing my way to being fit.

 

After spending a few months letting Crossfit Coconut Grove sculpt my bod into the best shape I’ve ever been in, I took a break.

 

My ego thought, ” I can do this on my own! I can save money, run a couple of days a week, and still maintain my flat stomach.” Nope. Sure I held onto my fine physique for a solid four months of doing nothing, but those last five months revealed the love handles of my worst nightmare and I accepted defeat. For the past month I have been trying to come up with workouts on my own to get back into the amazing shape of my quickly fading past, and yesterday, I discovered a workout that can do just that. A spunky blond I met two weeks ago named Jen told me about a workout called Orange Theory Fitness that was similar to Crossfit but more cardio based. Was it possible? Being that not enough cardio was my only qualm with Crossfit, I knew I had to drink the orange Kool-Aid and try this class out.

 

I visited the Orange Theory Fitness studio in Coral Gables on Salzedo and was immediately overwhelmed by how many treadmills I saw. It looked like a small room from the outside, but boy do they maximize their space! I admit I cringed a bit when I read some of the reviews online about other locations not having showers, but that’s not a problem at the Coral Gables location.

 

The machines were brand new and state of the art. Easy to use touch-screen treadmills, water rowers, and a clean fitness mat with weights not covered in grit welcomed you along with the much welcomed air conditioner. Thank God for air conditioning! My instructor, Craig, made me feel comfortable and still knew how to push me as a new client. The part I like most was being able to constantly see how hard I was pushing myself. According to my trainer, customers should complete at least 20-35 minutes in the green zone and between 18-22 minutes combined in orange and red (where you are training at 84% or higher of your maximum heart rate) so that your metabolism will increase for the next day or two. Not only can you see how you did at the end of class, they email it to you!

Instead of sitting on my couch and convincing myself that I’ll just “workout tomorrow,” my body still feels alive after a full day of work and even a beer. (Monk in the Trunk is the best. AND it’s organic so it has to be good for you, right?) If you love a workout with tons of cardio that enables you to keep working out even after you’ve stepped out of the gym, I truly recommend you try Orange Theory Fitness. Hitting my mid-twenties doesn’t mean a slower metabolism and weight that won’t budge. My metabolism came out of hiding with Orange Theory and I can’t wait to see how my body transforms over the next few months. Now…if only I could resist beer. Nah. That’s asking too much.